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Month: May 2014

Type A Gemini twin and panic are setting in. (Side note: this will NOT be turning into a wedding blog, but you will be hearing about it on occasion.)

We are not concerning ourselves with a massive, go for broke, traditional wedding.. though those are beautiful. We want something relaxed, laid back and all about our friends and family (not to mention we have two years to plan). I am noticing that even those have plenty of planning that goes into them and hundreds of things to think about.

Thankfully, I am surrounded by wonderful friends who have done this before and are willing to lend a hand, and I refuse to lose my sense of humor and focus on what a wedding is about in a pile of linen choices and flowers. BUT, I ask you, dear readers: To those who have been married before, what piece of advice would you go back and give your newly engaged self?

Peace and blessings! Momma is headed out for a fabulous run tonight since training for the Chicago Marathon starts next week!

Let’s just take it back to Friday when I had to drive to Chicago for an interview.

I was extremely excited about this position: PR for a start-up in Greek Town that produces premium, 100% natural, human-grade dog treats called Lincoln Bark. The thought of doing PR for a start-up is a dream to me, especially a company like this with so much potential with a product I believe in!

I immediately fell in love with the owner, and we sat and chatted for two hours. She offered me the job on the spot, but it was only for two days a week. I didn’t think 1. that would be nearly enough time for me to accomplish what the company needs and 2. that wouldn’t be enough money for me to live on. This was a great opportunity though! She told me to think about it and talk it over with Paul.

Saturday morning I sat down to write her a thank you note when my email dinged. It was an email from her offering me the position again but for full-time! After a super quick chat with Paul, I accepted!

We then got ready to head out to our “Preakness Stakes” themed going away party, hosted by our dear friends. All (well most) of our closest friends were gathering for one last soiree to give us a send-off. It was perfect!

You can’t have a party without cheese…

My handsome man!

You also can’t have a party without puppies

About an hour and a half into the party, the hostess called everyone into the living room to give a toast. It was so great looking around at all of our closest friends and having them there with us… weird that they ALL had cameras, so I was feeling a little awkward. Then Paul said a few words telling our friends that they were our family and our home. Paul then said I had exciting news to share, so I told everyone about my job, I toasted to full-time employment and thought we were done when suddenly Paul said, “and there is one more thing”, and proceeded to drop to one knee and pull out a ring.

This is probably the part where you want to hear the sweet words he said and how I started to cry… but no, that would be too easy for us. Paul was immediately bombarded by the 3 golden retriever puppies that were in attendance, one which was trying to eat the ring. I blacked out and didn’t hear anything he said, but proceeded to flap my hands like a mad woman and call him an asshole because he had tricked me and said he wasn’t going to propose anytime soon.

Thank God I stopped my hands long enough and shut my mouth to hear him say, “will you spend the rest of your life with me?”, and I slid my puppy drool lubed ring on my finger and held on to a tiny shred of romance by hugging and kissing my fiance.

How amazing to have all of our “people” there. It was a dream of mine to have our engagement happen like that and it was perfect. People really only remember the dog and the asshole comment, but it was perfectly us, and we got to spend the rest of the day with everyone celebrating.

Dinner post going away/engagement party

There are better pictures that I can post later, but all I can say, in the most cliche way ever, is that I am the luckiest girl in the world!

Detroit gets a pretty bad rap from most of the nation, and most of Michigan; me included sometimes.

Having grown up in a suburb of Detroit, I was fortunate enough to go to the Detroit Symphony, Tiger’s games, hockey games to cheer on the Red Wings, the Fox Theater and other little Detroit treasures. As an adult, though, short of the occasional Tiger’s game, I never go to Detroit, and I never really want to… Until I met my new co-worker Dana who lives in, and LOVES, Detroit.

She planned a Detroit day for Paul and me so that we could see Detroit through the eyes of a natives.

We started with coffee at her amazing loft which is right across the express way from Comerica Park and Ford Field and then made our way over to Eastern Market.

Detroit skyline

They had the most amazing flowers!

I thought this couple selling bread was just too cute to not take a picture of.

We then headed across the street to grab brunch at this great little place:

They had so many great options and most everything is made from local goods, plus it is cafeteria style seating, so you can make some new friends. How many people would have guessed that there were places in Detroit to get a vegan waffle?

So good!

Then we headed to Dana’s boyfriend’s building. It is a former Model-T dealership in Cork Town that he is renovating. The place just reeks of history and has the most amazing details! A tin ceiling, tiled floor, and two roof spaces for amazing views of Detroit.

Ambassador Bridge from the roof top

Michigan Central Station. It is abandoned now, but is still a gorgeous piece of architecture.

The site of the old Tiger’s Stadium, now used as a park.

The second floor of his building is his living space, and is the coolest loft style space I have ever seen. So much potential!

This doesn’t do it justice

We met a woman who rents a small retail space in the building and grew up in Cork Town. It was amazing to sit and listen to them talk about the history of Cork Town like when the Tigers won the World Series in ’84 and when people were bused into downtown Detroit when mental hospitals were closed around the state. You get a whole new appreciation for a city when you get to spend time with people who love it and are investing in it.

Our last stop in Detroit was Slow’s BBQ (for a vegetarian, I end up at a lot of BBQ places). It has a great reputation, and speaking only on behalf of the beer, service and mac n’ cheese, it was amazing.

And one last look at Michigan Central Station:

Detroit may get a bad rap, but there is tons to do in this city and lots of life thriving in it. It’s not out of the woods yet, but Detroit will have better days again.